When women perform in a male-dominated field

What defines our identities? How is the relationship between individual and group identity? That is what Alejandra Carles-Tolra examines.
‘The Bears’ is a series of photographs portraying women who are a part of Brown University’s rugby team.

“After photographing ROTC cadets for my series ‘Fall In’, I learned about the experiences of women who perform in a male-dominated field. I then became very interested in photographing other women with emergent identities who were also part of a group in a predominantly male field. Women who join the sport are commonly pictured to fit a masculine stereotype. Rugby has a complex identity that is often simplified, and hence the identity of those who play it, especially women, is often also simplified. Through my portraits, I aim to bring a broader understanding of their identities, and what it means to be a woman who plays a male-dominated sport such as rugby,” Alejandra Carles-Tolra says to Sport Executive.